SINGAPORE - A 27-year-old man has been arrested for cheating victims by selling discounted shopping vouchers worth less than what he promised, the police said in a news release on Friday (April 28).

One victim made a police report on Monday (April 24) at 5.50pm, saying she was cheated after placing orders for $380 worth of shopping vouchers at a discounted price of $300 on online marketplace Carousell.

She met the suspect, who took cash from her and gave her a sealed envelope.

Before she could verify the contents inside, the suspect left.

The woman opened the envelope and found only $30 worth of shopping vouchers and other unrelated documents.

Officers from the Central Police Division identified the suspect and arrested him on Wednesday (April 26).

He is believed to be involved in several similar cases of cheating.

Anyone found guilty of cheating can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

Investigations against the suspect are ongoing.

The police in their news release advised the public to adopt the following measures to avoid falling for online purchase scams:

- Make your online purchases only from reputable vendors;

- If advance payments are necessary, transact only with people you know and trust;

- Check that the person or company you are buying from is physically located where they claim to be;

- Check the track record of the company or seller. Make enquiries with the clients and customers about the service they received from the seller;

- Never give your bank account numbers, credit card numbers and personal information to anyone you do not know or have not checked out;

- Whenever possible, check the goods before making payments;

- Do not provide any information that is not necessary to make the purchase; and

- Be mindful that scammers may use a local bank account for the transaction to enhance their credibility. The owner of the bank account may not be the person communicating with you online.